PSA issues printed ePhilID, read here how to claim it

No national ID, no problem. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has started the implementation of the printed ePhilID, the digital version of the PhilID that is printed paper.

Printed ePhilID, source: PSA

Digital national ID on paper

As one of the proactive strategies of the PSA, the printed ePhilID is part of the 50 million target PhilIDs set to be issued by the end of the year, PSA said in a statement.

The printed ePhilID will allow Filipinos to utilize the benefits of PhilSys, such as seamless transactions in financial and social protection services that require proof of identity, subject to authentication.

PSA chief and National Statistician Dennis Mapa noted the claiming process to be fast and hassle-free.

The printed ePhilIDs will be issued in PhilSys registration centers nationwide. We hope to replicate the results as we accelerate the rollout to more locations in the country and ensure a seamless process for every registered person in claiming their printed ePhilD, he said.

This was initially implemented in the National Capital Region, Bulacan, and Pampanga in September and October, which involved selected registered persons.

As of October 20, a total of 385,657 printed ePhilIDs were already claimed, while 1,992,289 printed ePhilIDs were already pre-generated in preparation for the expansion of the printed ePhilID rollout.

Still, Mapa assured that those have received their printed ePhilD will still receive their actual IDs.

We assure all PhilSys registrants will still receive their physical PhilID cards. Printing will continue parallel to the introduction of the printed ePhilID. There is a physical card allocated for each registered person, Mapa was quoted saying in a report by GMA News Online.

How to claim printed ePhilID?

The PSA said that the printed ePhilID is FREE of charge and is open for registered persons issued with PhilSys Numbers (PSN).

Visit the online appointment system at https://appt.philsys.gov.ph to check if you were already issued with their PSN and set an appointment for the claiming of your printed ePhilID.

The site requires the transaction number (TRN) found in the transaction slip given during Step 2 Registration.

The printed ePhilID bears the same information as the physical PhilID card, like the owner’s demographic data, photo, PhilSys Card Number (PCN), generation date, and QR code.

Source: PSA

On security, the QR code found in the printed ePhilID will be scanned via PhilSys Check (https://verify.philsys.gov.ph) for authentication and is embedded with the registrant’s photo as an additional security feature to verify the ID’s authenticity.

As it has the same functionality and validity as the physical PhilID card, the PSA already issued an advisory to ensure that the printed ePhilID and other formats of the digital PhilID shall be recognized in all transactions needing proof of identity and age, subject to authentication.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas also issued a memorandum to all its supervised financial institutions for the use and acceptance of the printed ePhilID and other formats of the digital PhilID.

Your digital national ID on paper, at least for now. Do you think this will be effective?

Sources: PSA, GMA News Online